I’m so pleased to share the amazing cover that Katie Kath and Knopf Books For Young Readers created for the sequel to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer!

Get ready for Sophie’s next adventures with even more magical chickens!

ARE YOU READY TO HATCH AN UNUSUAL CHICKEN? (UNUSUAL CHICKENS #2)written by Kelly Jones, illustrated by Katie Kath
coming to bookstores on November 6, 2018!Knopf Books for Young ReadersPreorder a signed copy!
(Just add a note in the instructions box requesting it be signed by author Kelly Jones when you place your preorder.)

DESCRIPTION:

This laugh-out-loud sequel to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer has EVEN MORE MAGIC CHICKENS!

Twelve-year-old Sophie Brown is finally settling into her new home and her new role as keeper of some highly unusual chickens–chickens with secret superpowers!

But the arrival of two new magical chickens for her flock and some unusual eggs to be incubated and hatched (what will their superpowers be?), plus an impending inspection from the Unusual Poultry Committee (who even knew this existed?) has Sophie feeling pretty stressed out. Her older cousin, Lupe, is coming to stay with her family, which is great–but will Lupe like chickens too? And on top of it all, Sophie’s first day at her new school is rapidly approaching!

In this wildly funny and quirky novel told in letters and lists and quizzes, Sophie learns that even an exceptional poultry farmer can use some help.

Fans of Patrice Kindl’s Keeping the Castle or Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer’s Sorcery and Cecelia will adore this funny Regency-era mystery about a determined young woman with a magical trick up her sleeve . . .

The year is 1818, the city is London, and 16-year-old Annis Whitworth has just learned that her father is dead and all his money is missing. And so, of course, she decides to become a spy. Annis always suspected that her father was himself a spy, and following in his footsteps to unmask his killer makes perfect sense. Alas, it does not make sense to England’s current spymasters–not even when Annis reveals that she has the rare magical ability to sew glamours: garments that can disguise the wearer completely. Well, if the spies are too pigheaded to take on a young woman of quality, then Annis will take them on. And so she crafts a new double life for herself. Miss Annis Whitworth will appear to live a quiet life in a country cottage with her aunt, and Annis-in-disguise as Madame Martine, glamour artist, will open a magical dressmaking shop. That way she can earn a living, maintain her social standing, and, in her spare time, follow the coded clues her father left behind and unmask his killer. It can’t be any harder than navigating the London social season, can it?

“Murder, Magic, and What We Wore blew my bonnet off. Kelly Jones has found a fresh way to share the delights of the magical regency. I truly love this book ” –Caroline Stevermer, coauthor of Sorcery & Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot

Fans of Patrice Kindl’s Keeping the Castle or Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer’s Sorcery and Cecelia will adore this funny Regency-era mystery about a determined young woman with a magical trick up her sleeve . . .

The year is 1818, the city is London, and 16-year-old Annis Whitworth has just learned that her father is dead and all his money is missing. And so, of course, she decides to become a spy. Annis always suspected that her father was himself a spy, and following in his footsteps to unmask his killer makes perfect sense. Alas, it does not make sense to England’s current spymasters–not even when Annis reveals that she has the rare magical ability to sew glamours: garments that can disguise the wearer completely. Well, if the spies are too pigheaded to take on a young woman of quality, then Annis will take them on. And so she crafts a new double life for herself. Miss Annis Whitworth will appear to live a quiet life in a country cottage with her aunt, and Annis-in-disguise as Madame Martine, glamour artist, will open a magical dressmaking shop. That way she can earn a living, maintain her social standing, and, in her spare time, follow the coded clues her father left behind and unmask his killer. It can’t be any harder than navigating the London social season, can it?

“Murder, Magic, and What We Wore blew my bonnet off. Kelly Jones has found a fresh way to share the delights of the magical regency. I truly love this book ” –Caroline Stevermer, coauthor of Sorcery & Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot

Note: the apples have socks on them to protect them from apple maggots. The maggots can’t get through the socks to reach the apples. But Ada learned how to pull them off… Ada is a very smart chicken, although she doesn’t always do what she’s supposed to!

Unnamed sources have informed me that my second book, now titled MURDER, MAGIC, AND WHAT WE WORE, is currently making its way to the very first reviewers. (My spies are everywhere!)

So, a little more about the book, and how it came to be…

MURDER, MAGIC, AND WHAT WE WORE began more than ten years ago as a book I called GLAMOUR, and it came from my great love of novels set in Regency England, and my inability to write anything without magic. It wasn’t the first novel I ever wrote — it was the second. I spent years and years working on it, and held my breath, and submitted it… And it didn’t work for anyone. It didn’t go anywhere.

So, I set it aside. I flailed around, wondering if I was really a writer at all. While I flailed, I wrote a bunch more books. (Lesson learned: keep writing, even if you’re not sure why.) I taught myself how to tell a story. And I wrote a very odd book that I loved, and I sent it out into the world… and it became my first published novel, UNUSUAL CHICKENS FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL POULTRY FARMER.

And then my awesome editor asked me what else I was thinking about, and I confessed I still had a story I couldn’t get out of my mind…

Trouble was, I knew those early versions really were a disaster. So, I took a deep breath, left the originals in the drawer, and rewrote the story from scratch, without looking at them. (Note to writers: in my experience, this is not easier or quicker than writing a new book.)

This time, I really thought about what happened during the years when King George III was deemed unfit to rule (due to mental illness) and England was instead ruled by his son, the Prince Regent. Technology was changing daily life, countries were at war, and class divisions ran deep. I looked at what was happening in other parts of the world, and at some of the astonishing real people who lived then. And my story grew, and changed.

Sixteen-year-old Annis Whitworth is a very different fish out of water than Sophie Brown, and the world of historic fashion and spies is vastly different than modern farming. But I hope you may see some similarities in the ways both girls step forward to do what they know is right, however much it scares them — hopefully giving you a laugh or two along the way.

MURDER, MAGIC, AND WHAT WE WORE, for readers age 12+, will be coming out from Knopf Books for Young Readers on September 19, 2017!

I’m ecstatically pleased to announce that my second book will be coming out in June of 2017 from Knopf Books for Young Readers!

The new title is: How to Sew a Glamour — or — Murder, Magic, and What We Wore

It’s about sixteen-year old Miss Annis Whitworth, who has a talent for sewing glamours: magical garments that can disguise anyone who wears them completely. When her father dies under suspicious circumstances, she decides she’d much rather become a spy like he was than a governess. Unfortunately, the other spies don’t quite see things her way — at least, not yet.

It’s set in 1818 in England, during the Regency period, and may best suit readers age ten and up. And no, there isn’t a single chicken in it — but there is some fun magic, some parts that I think are awfully funny, and a few letters here and there (including messages in code!)

Note: I’m teaching lots this spring, but mostly at school events which are not open to the public. If you’d like me to come speak or teach your group, talk to your library, bookstore, or school about putting something together, or contact me!